Of Summers and Swans
by CesarAcosta2000
Summary: A while back, there was at least one reader that had asked what it would be like if Damien Summers had gone to high school with Bella. I have to admit that in the previous story, I had put Damien into an elevated education level, but I guess this would be one way for an ordinary guy to be able to win over someone like Bella, unaware of her more dangerous suitors.
1. Of Summers and Swans

Love at First Handshake

Bella:

My first day in a different school. Can't say I'm going to be eager to start all this. I noticed some of the sniggers as I pulled in with my truck. I really wanted to hit a few people for the looks I got. I guess it couldn't be helped. Even when someone did comment on it, I didn't know if they were being sarcastic or what. I parked next to a black 1969 Impala. The owner just happened to be sitting in it, but he was reading through a thick book of English Lit. He had a marker cap in his mouth, and was using a hi-liter to mark different passages, I had noticed as i got out of my truck, and saw him look up at me as he had seen I was watching him.

"I didn't mean to-"

He smiled, "No worries. What's up?"

I quickly straightened, and turned away, "Nothing. I'm sorry. I'm new here, and I saw you studying."

He got out of his car, and walked over to me. He was only a little taller than I was, but he had a slim athletic build. He wore dark jeans, and a red flannel, the sleeves rolled up, but when I looked up, I saw his face was also thin, his nose was thin, and his blue eyes looked into mine. His hair was mostly medium, except for a long pony-tail.

He smiled, "I'm Damien Summers."

I couldn't help smiling back, "Isabella Swan, but I prefer Bella."

He nodded, "You certainly are."

I smiled at that, and looked over to the main building, "I still have to get settled in. Would you mind if we talked later?"

He shrugged, "Or, I could show you around. That's up to you."

"Would you be cool with it? I mean, I know you were studying just now."

"That was me being very thorough. It's not the book we use in class, but it's a big help. Nevermind. Let's help you get settled in, shall we?"

"That's a nice car you got, by the way."

"I bought it off Chief Swan in the summer. I volunteered for office work in the sheriff's office to complete my community hours for the graduation requirements. He said it was just laying around anyway."

I chuckled at that, "I'm sure he'd be glad to know you're taking care of it. "

He smiled and gestured his head toward the building, "I'm talking too much, right? Want to get going?"

As we walked into the arch of the building, another fellow came up to us, and looked to Damien. He was an asian fellow, with longish hair, and I guess he would be easy going, but right now, he looked dead-serious.

"Summers, did you get that article on the local disappearances done?"

He looked over, slightly annoyed, "Eric, the last thing we need is to cause a panic. Besides, the actual newspaper is doing a PSA."

Eric chimed in, "We can run your article concurrently, and tell the students about a possible in-coming curfew."

Damien was about to protest, when Eric noticed me, and introduced himself, as he offered to write an article on me. I smiled at that, and motioned my head towards Damien, "Only if he gets to interview me."

He grumbled at that, a bit, and went on his way.

I almost laughed, "Is he always like that?"

Damien inclined his head, "Sometimes. We're all just starting, but he wants our last year to be Pulitzer Prize type material."

I chuckled, "Has anyone told him him it's a high school paper?"

He gave me a slightly serious look, "It's more about pride. it's also something we can put on our resume, I guess."

I smiled, "Mind if I take a crack at that story? I know how to do research myself, and such."

He turned to face me, "Well, did you really want me to interview you?"

I looked into his eyes, "I think it'll be fun. Will I get to work with you on that missing person's story?"

He nodded, and we continued walking, "I suppose. We'd also need access to police archives so we can determine the distribution of victim types, and we might need to ask ESAR workers about their findings." He looked over at me as I kept my eyes on him, "What?"

"You dive into everything full-force, don't you?"

He nodded, and gestured to the office, "This is it. Want me to wait out here?"

I went in, and got myself checked in, and came out with the list of classes. He didn't ask me for it, but he slung his bag over his shoulder, "So, where would you like to go first?"

He did show me to my first class, and had gotten a map to the office, and marked off where I would need to go for the rest of the day. After that, he had to go to his own classes. I was glad that I had at least 3 with him.

Unfortunately, PE wasn't one of them. I did meet Mike Newton, and Jessica Stanley, though. They were both very friendly, and I agreed to sit with them at lunch, as well. As it turned out, they knew Damien as well, and he came over as he finished putting food on his tray. I noticed he was having very little, so I guess he wasn't all that hungry.

"Hey Bella,"

I smiled, "Fancy meeting you here."

"Indeed."

Mike looked over jealously, "So, Dames, you know Bella, huh?"

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

Mike sneered, "I lost count."

Damien shook his head, "It doesn't even sound right."

Jessica leaned over to whisper to me, "Don't mind them. They always bicker like that. Although, I do have to admit that you're one of the few girls that Damien's actually cool with."

"I thought he'd been here a while."

She shook her head, "He just started at the beginning of this semester. So, he's a bit of a late-comer, just like you."

At that point, I noticed another group enter and gather at their own table, and Jess whispered over to me, "Those are the Cullens. They were adopted by a local wealthy couple." She went on to name them, but I didn't really care at that point. I did notice that Damien had his head buried in the same book he had earlier when I met him. I also noticed that one of the Cullens, Edward, had a scowl seemingly carved into his face, and he was directing that scowl at the two of us.

I nudged Damien and asked him, "Hey, do you know that guy?"

He looked up briefly, and turned to me, "Edward Cullen? I don't know him personally, except on one brief meeting. Otherwise, not really. Why?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. It seems like he's giving us a dirty look."

Damien let his shoulders slump a bit, "I wouldn't give it much thought. As far as he knows, you're the new girl, and you're one of the few that didn't gravitate to him right away."

I laughed, "I didn't even know about him until just now. Did you try to make friends with him?"

I could tell he was close to laughter, himself, and muttered, "I don't really count me asking for the bathroom as a proper meeting. Besides, other than that, there hasn't been any reason to strike up a conversation with them."

Jess chimed in, "In other words, he's really picky, and no one around here seems to be good enough for him. So, don't waste your time, hon."

I nodded, "Gotcha, I wasn't planning to. So, Damien, what class do you have next?"

He blew out a breath, "AP Chem. you?"

I noticed that Edward Cullen made an even nastier look, and turned away as I looked at my schedule, "I have Biology. Would you be cool if we talk when we get to our rides?"

"No prob. See you then." He got up and touched my shoulder briefly, "I have to get some notes from the teacher, so I'll see you later. Take care, k?"


	2. First Date

First Date

Bella:

I got to my bio class, and felt a little underwhelmed, if that's a word. I guess Damien must be going through his own routine by now. As I got in, the fan was on, giving me a massive blast of cold as I got in, blowing my hair all over the place as the teacher came over to welcome me. He told me to sit next to Edward Cullen, who looked like he was about to gag on something. If I cared what he thought, I might've been a little offended.

I got settled in as he looked away, ignoring me as much as possible. Although, when he did look at me, he gave me a scowl that just told me he didn't want to be there because he didn't even try to talk to me. Well, Jess had said he was a bit snotty, so I just returned the favor, and ignored him too. I made up my mind to see if I could switch out of that class, and maybe I could take the AP Chemistry Damien had. Once I got there, though, Edward was trying to argue with the registrar about switching out to another class. They wouldn't let him, so stomped off, brushing past me, and not bothering to look over.

I ended up meeting with Damien, and Jess after my classes as I went back to my truck. I glanced over at her, and shrugged.

"You right about Cullen, what a douche."

She nodded, chuckling, "What did I tell you?"

I looked over at Damien, who was throwing his book bag into his car, "So, how'd your class go?"

He leaned against his car, and smiled, "Same old, same old. I mean, not exactly the same lecture, but the teacher's pretty consistent with his style."

I smirked, "Think there's room for one more?"

He was puzzled, but at once understood, "That bad, huh?"

I leaned on the car, next to him, "It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Ever have to deal with those people who make you wish you never came?"

"I know the feeling. I got it, too, the first couple of weeks."

I looked at him, "What'd you do?"

"I just ignored that feeling, and pushed on. Besides, I've got stuff to do. Don't give yourself something extra to worry about."

I sighed as I pulled my shoulders up, "You're right. I'm making a big deal, and he doesn't rate that."

He nodded, knowingly, and smirked, "Ah, yes. Mr. Cullen gave you the cold shoulder, huh? He does that to everyone. Don't let it bug you. It just means you're not his brand of weird."

I had to laugh at that, and asked, "Do you have stuff to do later?"

He thought about it, looking pensive for a moment, and then, "I'll probably have my homework finished by then. What's up?"

I stood there for a moment, not sure how to continue, "I don't know. Maybe, we could hang out."

He smiled, "Yeah, that'd be awesome. How about 6pm?"

I chuckled, "Well, obviously. I mean, we're not meeting for breakfast."

I saw Mike jog over as Jess smiled, somewhat relieved, He was out of breath as he asked, "What's up? What are you guys talking about?"

I dismissed it, "Nothing. Don't worry about it" and that just made Jessica's smile go broader. She looked a bit like the Cheshire cat for a moment.

He looked over at me, and asked, "So, how's about we go out to a movie, or something?"

I gave him an apologetic look, "I made plans for tonight. Maybe some other time, ok?"

At once, Mike understood, and scowled at Damien, "You got plans too?"

Damien shook his head slowly, "Mind not being a bitch about it?"

Mike turned away, "It's cool. Whatever, man." He stomped off, just then, and Jess watched him go, slightly disappointed.

Damien motioned to Jess, "Hey, we talked about this. How's he going to know what you're thinking if you don't tell him?"

She looked up and seemed to be holding herself, "Here goes nothing. See you tomorrow, Bella."

She walked off, going the same direction as Mike, leaving us alone.

I had to laugh as I looked up at him, "Is he always like that?"

"Not quite. He took a liking to you, and I guess he hoped you'd feel the same."

I fought the urge to lean on him as I laughed even harder, and I kept looking at him as my laughter tapered off. I finally looked at my watch, and told him, "Hey, I've got to meet my dad for dinner. We're on for tonight, though, right?"

He nodded as he opened my door for me after I unlocked it, "Sure, it's a date. I'll pick you up around 6, Alright?"

I smiled, wider now. That made my day.

I met my Charlie at the local diner. He looked up and I guess he noticed I was smiling. He chuckled, "Did you have a good day at school?"

"Maybe, depending on how you look at it. I have a date."

He placed his elbows on the table, folding his hands under his chin, "Do I know the guy?"

I hesitated, "I don't know. It's another newcomer. He's the guy who bought your Impala, Damien Summers."

He totally relaxed then, "Oh, yeah. I know him. He's a good kid. He did an internship at the station. He organized all the massive paperwork, combined case files and made a database for everyone to follow."

I nodded, "He's on the school paper, too. Do you know anything else about him?"

He shook his head a bit, "I don't know too much. He's not very talkative, but he is friendly. I'm sure he'll tell you what you want to know."

"I'm thinking of joining the school paper, too. So, I can help him with a project."

Charlie seemed very pleased at all this, "I'm glad it went so well for you. So, everything went well today?"

I looked away for a moment, "Sort of."

He looked over at me, "Uh-oh. What happened?"

I shrugged, "It's nothing. I bumped into someone who was totally rude to me, but Damien told me not to sweat it."

"That's true. Rude people aren't worth your time."

We spent the rest of dinner talking about my date, and he was telling me to be careful, be safe if things went in a serious direction.

"Do you know the Cullens?"

"I know Dr. Cullen. There are a lot of rumors about his whole family, but that's small town politics for you. Small minds, you know?"

"Not everyone." I defended.

He smiled, "Damien's from out of town. I see you really like this guy. So, where are you going tonight?"

I found myself stumped, "I don't actually know the area, so I'm wondering about that, myself. He's dropping by the house around 6 tonight. So, I'm pretty sure he'll tell you what he's got planned for tonight."

"Are you nervous?"

I shook my head, "More excited, actually."

He cleared his throat, ""Well, I guess we'll see, then."

Damien actually arrived a quarter to the hour, which Charlie really liked. I told him to come in and meet Charlie formally.

He inclined his head, "Hello, Chief Swan. It's good to see you again. I hope all is running well at the station."

My dad chuckled a bit, "Business before pleasure, huh? Yeah, everything's running smooth. So, do you two have the same classes?"

I answered, "We have a few together. I'm thinking of switching to one more, if possible."

Charlie looked over at me, "I didn't know you changed your name, Bells."

I gave him a wry look, and he looked to Damien, "Where are you planning to go?"

"I'm thinking of having us go to Port Angeles. Don't worry, though. I'll have her home before 10."

Charlie shrugged, "It's alright. Make it half past 10, and you'll be fine."

We walked out to the car, and Damien opened the door for me, "Entre, Mademoiselle."

I got in, and he closed it slowly, yet firmly. Then he went to his side, got in, smiling as he looked over to me as he started the car.

I had to ask, "So, what were you telling Jess back at school?"

He shrugged, "You'll have to ask her. We're here. Ready for dinner?"

I could tell my smile was broad, and toothy, "And then some…"

Continued…


End file.
